HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In a tale of two halves, the No. 5 Valdosta State men's basketball team used a 16-3 run over the final 4:37 to pull away from Alabama Huntsville Monday evening. VSU had four players in double figures led by a game-high 23 points from senior Winston Morgan, while junior Darrel Jones narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
VSU (10-1, 3-1 GSC) shot lights out in the first half, going 19 of 36 from the field and draining 10 of 15 triples in the opening half, but the first 15 minutes and change of the second half was a different story as UAH (7-3, 2-2 GSC) chipped away from a 55-39 halftime deficit to within two at 71-69, before the 16-3 run to end the game.
For the game, VSU shot 30 of 59 from the field (.508), while going 14 of 23 from beyond the arc (.609) and 13 of 17 from the line. Morgan was 8 of 12 from the field, 6 of 8 from beyond the arc and 1 of 2 from the line. Junior Clay Guillozet had 17 points with four triples, while senior Beau Justice added 10 points and Jones recorded 12.
UAH shot 26 of 56 from the field, while going 7 of 23 from beyond the arc, but was just 13 of 21 from the line which proved costly. VSU held a 36-31 lead in rebounding, while leading 25-15 in points off turnovers as the Blazers had 17 miscues to the 16 for the Chargers. JJ Kaplan paced the Chargers with 19 points, while Tanner Finley was clutch on the glass with 10 rebounds and eight points.
VSU led for all but 13 seconds and built a 20-point margin in the first half, only to see the Chargers come roaring back in the second half. A triple from Jones put VSU up 18 at 60-42 early in the second half, but UAH quickly cut the deficit to 10 with an 8-0 run.
As foul trouble started to mount for both teams, VSU used a lot of different lineups to combat the fouls. Morgan hit a big triple to push the lead to 12 at 71-59 with nine minutes left, but from there, UAH used a 10-0 run pulling within two at 71-69 with 4:36 left. A jumper from Sam Orf and one free throw from Kaplan were the only points for UAH over the final four minutes and change.
The Blazers return home for the Christmas break, before hosting Emmanuel College Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. at The Complex.
